First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $28.41 Million Stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 516,573 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,399 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Unilever were worth $28,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Red Tortoise LLC bought a new position in shares of Unilever in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Unilever in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Unilever by 423.8% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Unilever during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 9.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Unilever from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. UBS Group upgraded Unilever to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Redburn Atlantic raised Unilever from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Unilever in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Unilever from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.75.

Unilever Trading Down 0.7 %

UL opened at $64.39 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.54. The stock has a market cap of $160.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.48. Unilever PLC has a 1 year low of $46.16 and a 1 year high of $65.86.

Unilever Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.4773 dividend. This represents a $1.91 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This is a positive change from Unilever’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Unilever’s payout ratio is 55.10%.

Unilever Profile

Unilever PLC operates as a fast-moving consumer goods company in the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through five segments: Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition, and Ice Cream. The Beauty & Wellbeing segment engages in the sale of hair care products, such as shampoo, conditioner, and styling; skin care products including face, hand, and body moisturizer; and prestige beauty and health & wellbeing products consist of the vitamins, minerals, and supplements.